Reviewed by Bernadette Booth and Andrew Musson
We parked 5 minutes away from the Winter Gardens complex, on East Topping Street –chargeable parking at – £5.50 for 4 hours.
We arrived at the beautiful Blackpool Opera House, situated within the Winter Gardens. The Opera House is a lovely, very atmospheric and traditional large theatre. The staff as always were helpful and polite, offering to show us to our seats. We sat in the front stalls, our view was fairly restricted, as the seats are directly one in front of the other so that you are constantly leaning left/right to see around the head of the person in front – resulting in mild neck ache!
The show tells the story of a group of carefree young men taking a road trip around Europe on a converted London bus. The main character Don, (Cliff Richard in the original film) is played well by Ray Quinn. Early on in their trip the fun loving guys meet up with three gorgeous girls, and a young American singing star who has run away from her overbearing mother. The mixture of summer sun, young men and young women is destined to end in romance…
The stage set was evocative of the 1960’s, the focal point on stage was an iconic big red London bus, fabulous!
The hairstyles and costumes of the cast contributed to the 60’s vibe, and must have triggered a lot of great memories for older members of the audience.
We thought the show was lacklustre, but couldn’t identify exactly why this was, as the enthusiasm of the cast was evident throughout. We found the songs quite dull, although they were performed with energy and gusto. Classic hits such as Bachelor Boy, Living Doll, and Summer Holiday helped lift the show a little, but unfortunately not enough to warrant a higher score than 3 out of 5.
Rating: 3/5
Tickets cost from £17 to £39.50 (booking fees may apply).
Summer Holiday The Musical is at Blackpool Opera House from 24-28 July 2018, for more information or to book tickets visit www.wintergardensblackpool.co.uk or call the box office on 0844 856 1111.
Winter Gardens & Opera House Theatre, 97 Church Street, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY1 1HL
